Electronic device for managing embedded subscriber identification module and method for same

ABSTRACT

In an electronic device launching a communication service according to various embodiments and a method of operating the electronic device, the electronic device includes a memory configured to store device information corresponding to the electronic device; a first communication module comprising communication circuitry configured to establish a first communication connection corresponding to a first communication method with an external server; a second communication module comprising communication circuitry configured to establish a second communication connection corresponding to a second communication method with an external electronic device; and a processor, wherein the processor is configured to establish the first communication connection with the external server using the first communication module, to transmit the device information to the external server through the first communication connection, to receive one or more service identifiers corresponding to one or more services available to the external electronic device from the external server, to establish the second communication connection with the external electronic device using the second communication module, and to transmit control information based on at least a part of an identifier corresponding to at least one service of the one or more services to the external electronic device to activate the at least one service in the external electronic device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2018-0004714, filed on Jan. 12,2018, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND 1) Field

The disclosure relates to an electronic device for managing an embeddedsubscriber identification module (eSIM) and a method of operating theelectronic device, and for example to, a technique for managing an eSIMof an external electronic device connected to an electronic device.

2) Description of Related Art

Various electronic devices such as a smart phone, a tablet PC, aportable multimedia player (PMP), a personal digital assistant (PDA), alaptop personal computer, a wearable device, etc., are becoming popular.

Such various electronic devices can use a network provided by acommunication company to perform wireless communication. To use thenetwork provided by the communication company, authentication between aserver provided by the communication company and an electronic device isrequired, and the electronic device can perform authentication with theserver provided by the communication company using a profile stored inthe electronic device.

When a plurality of electronic devices including a smart phone, atablet, a wearable device, an electronic device with Internet on thing(IoT) technology, etc., includes a universal integrated circuit card(UICC), a separate subscription service (e.g., a subscription service ina shop operated by a communication service provider) provided by acommunication service provider can be used in order to performsubscription and management for communication services (e.g.,communication services using a cellular network provided by thecommunication service provider) available to the plurality of electronicdevices.

However, in order to proceed with the subscription service for each ofthe plurality of electronic devices, a troublesome procedure such asvisiting an offline store operated by the communication service providermay be required.

Alternatively, in the case of an electronic device having a displayscreen of a small size for proceeding with the subscription service oran electronic device having no display among the plurality of electronicdevices, it may be difficult to proceed with the subscription service.

SUMMARY

In accordance with an example aspect of the disclosure, an electronicdevice may include: a memory configured to store device informationcorresponding to the electronic device; a first communication modulecomprising communication circuitry configured to establish a firstcommunication connection corresponding to a first communication methodwith an external server; a second communication module comprisingcommunication circuitry configured to establish a second communicationconnection corresponding to a second communication method with anexternal electronic device; and a processor, wherein the processor isconfigured to establish the first communication connection with theexternal server using the first communication module, to transmit thedevice information to the external server through the firstcommunication connection, to receive one or more service identifierscorresponding to one or more services available to the externalelectronic device from the external server, to establish the secondcommunication connection with the external electronic device using thesecond communication module, and to transmit control information basedon at least a part of an identifier corresponding to at least oneservice of the one or more services to the external electronic device toactivate the at least one service in the external electronic device.

In accordance with another example aspect of the disclosure, anelectronic device may include: a memory configured to store deviceinformation corresponding to the electronic device and identifiers ofone or more services available to an external electronic device; a firstcommunication module comprising communication circuitry configured toestablish a first communication connection corresponding to a firstcommunication method with an external server; a second communicationmodule comprising communication circuitry configured to establish asecond communication connection corresponding to a second communicationmethod with the external electronic device; and a processor, wherein theprocessor is configured to establish the first communication connectionwith the external server using the first communication module, totransmit the device information to the external server through the firstcommunication connection, to establish the second communicationconnection with the external electronic device using the secondcommunication module, and to transmit control information based on atleast a part of an identifier corresponding to at least one service ofthe one or more services to the external electronic device to activatethe at least one service in the external electronic device.

In accordance with still another example aspect of the disclosure, anelectronic device may include: a memory configured to store deviceinformation corresponding to the electronic device; a firstcommunication module comprising communication circuitry configured toestablish a first communication connection corresponding to a firstcommunication method with an external server; and a processor, whereinthe processor is configured to establish the first communicationconnection with the external server using the first communicationmodule, to transmit the device information to the external serverthrough the first communication connection, to receive one or moreservice identifiers corresponding to one or more services available tothe electronic device from the external server, and to transmit a signalrequesting activation based on at least a part of an identifiercorresponding to at least one service of the one or more services to theexternal server to activate the at least one service in the electronicdevice.

In accordance with yet another example aspect of the disclosure, anelectronic device may include: a memory configured to store deviceinformation corresponding to the electronic device; a firstcommunication module comprising communication circuitry configured toestablish a first communication connection corresponding to a firstcommunication method with an external server; a second communicationmodule comprising communication circuitry configured to establish asecond communication connection corresponding to a second communicationmethod with an external electronic device; and a processor, wherein theprocessor is configured to establish the second communication connectionwith the external electronic device using the second communicationmodule, to receive device information of the external electronic devicefrom the external electronic device, to determine whether a profileexists in the external electronic device based on the device informationof the external electronic device, to determine whether the externalelectronic device is first connected to the electronic device inresponse to determining that the profile exists, and to transmit controlinformation based on at least a part of an identifier corresponding toat least one service available to the external electronic device to theexternal electronic device to activate the at least one service in theexternal electronic device based on the determination result.

In accordance with a further example aspect of the disclosure, anelectronic device may include: a first communication module comprisingcommunication circuitry configured to establish a first communicationconnection corresponding to a first communication method with a firstexternal electronic device; and a processor, wherein the processor isconfigured to establish the first communication connection with thefirst external electronic device using the first communication module,to receive device information transmitted by the first externalelectronic device, and to transmit one or more service identifierscorresponding to one or more services available to a second externalelectronic device connected to the first external electronic device, tothe first external electronic device.

According to various example embodiments of the disclosure, anelectronic device performing communication service subscription and amethod of operating the electronic device may perform communicationservice subscription using an electronic device connected to an externalelectronic device, which may be a communication service subscriptiontarget, thereby smoothly performing communication service subscriptionand management procedures with respect to the external electronicdevice.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features and advantages of certainembodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent from thefollowing detailed description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device according tovarious embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a program according to variousembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a relationship among anelectronic device, an external electronic device, and an external serveraccording to various embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 4A is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device accordingto various embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 4B is a block diagram illustrating an external electronic deviceaccording to various embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 4C is a block diagram illustrating an external server according tovarious embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating profile downloading and installationon an external electronic device, in an electronic device according tovarious embodiments of the disclosure;

FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 are flowcharts illustrating an operation of downloadinga profile and installing a profile on an external electronic device, inan electronic device according to various embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of performingcommunication service unsubscription using an electronic deviceaccording to various embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of managing acommunication service using an electronic device according to variousembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of activating acommunication service when a profile of at least one of an electronicdevice and an external electronic device is changed, in an electronicdevice according to various embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating an electronicdevice according to various embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating an electronicdevice according to another embodiment of the disclosure; and

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an operation in which an electronicdevice according to various embodiments of the disclosure alone installsa profile.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device 101 in anetwork environment 100 according to various embodiments. Referring toFIG. 1, the electronic device 101 in the network environment 100 maycommunicate with an electronic device 102 via a first network 198 (e.g.,a short-range wireless communication network), or an electronic device104 or a server 108 via a second network 199 (e.g., a long-rangewireless communication network). According to an embodiment, theelectronic device 101 may communicate with the electronic device 104 viathe server 108. According to an embodiment, the electronic device 101may include a processor 120, memory 130, an input device 150, a soundoutput device 155, a display device 160, an audio module 170, a sensormodule 176, an interface 177, a haptic module 179, a camera module 180,a power management module 188, a battery 189, a communication module190, a subscriber identification module (SIM) 196, or an antenna module197. In some embodiments, at least one (e.g., the display device 160 orthe camera module 180) of the components may be omitted from theelectronic device 101, or one or more other components may be added inthe electronic device 101. In some embodiments, some of the componentsmay be implemented as single integrated circuitry. For example, thesensor module 176 (e.g., a fingerprint sensor, an iris sensor, or anilluminance sensor) may be implemented as embedded in the display device160 (e.g., a display).

The processor 120 may execute, for example, software (e.g., a program140) to control at least one other component (e.g., a hardware orsoftware component) of the electronic device 101 coupled with theprocessor 120, and may perform various data processing or computation.According to one embodiment, as at least part of the data processing orcomputation, the processor 120 may load a command or data received fromanother component (e.g., the sensor module 176 or the communicationmodule 190) in volatile memory 132, process the command or the datastored in the volatile memory 132, and store resulting data innon-volatile memory 134. According to an embodiment, the processor 120may include a main processor 121 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU)or an application processor (AP)), and an auxiliary processor 123 (e.g.,a graphics processing unit (GPU), an image signal processor (ISP), asensor hub processor, or a communication processor (CP)) that isoperable independently from, or in conjunction with, the main processor121. Additionally or alternatively, the auxiliary processor 123 may beadapted to consume less power than the main processor 121, or to bespecific to a specified function. The auxiliary processor 123 may beimplemented as separate from, or as part of the main processor 121.

The auxiliary processor 123 may control at least some of functions orstates related to at least one component (e.g., the display device 160,the sensor module 176, or the communication module 190) among thecomponents of the electronic device 101, instead of the main processor121 while the main processor 121 is in an inactive (e.g., sleep) state,or together with the main processor 121 while the main processor 121 isin an active state (e.g., executing an application). According to anembodiment, the auxiliary processor 123 (e.g., an image signal processoror a communication processor) may be implemented as part of anothercomponent (e.g., the camera module 180 or the communication module 190)functionally related to the auxiliary processor 123.

The memory 130 may store various data used by at least one component(e.g., the processor 120 or the sensor module 176) of the electronicdevice 101. The various data may include, for example, software (e.g.,the program 140) and input data or output data for a command relatedthereto. The memory 130 may include the volatile memory 132 or thenon-volatile memory 134.

The program 140 may be stored in the memory 130 as software, and mayinclude, for example, an operating system (OS) 142, middleware 144, oran application 146.

The input device 150 may receive a command or data to be used by othercomponent (e.g., the processor 120) of the electronic device 101, fromthe outside (e.g., a user) of the electronic device 101. The inputdevice 150 may include, for example, a microphone, a mouse, or akeyboard.

The sound output device 155 may output sound signals to the outside ofthe electronic device 101. The sound output device 155 may include, forexample, a speaker or a receiver. The speaker may be used for generalpurposes, such as playing multimedia or playing record, and the receivermay be used for an incoming calls. According to an embodiment, thereceiver may be implemented as separate from, or as part of the speaker.

The display device 160 may visually provide information to the outside(e.g., a user) of the electronic device 101. The display device 160 mayinclude, for example, a display, a hologram device, or a projector andcontrol circuitry to control a corresponding one of the display,hologram device, and projector. According to an embodiment, the displaydevice 160 may include touch circuitry adapted to detect a touch, orsensor circuitry (e.g., a pressure sensor) adapted to measure theintensity of force incurred by the touch.

The audio module 170 may convert a sound into an electrical signal andvice versa. According to an embodiment, the audio module 170 may obtainthe sound via the input device 150, or output the sound via the soundoutput device 155 or a headphone of an external electronic device (e.g.,an electronic device 102) directly (e.g., wiredly) or wirelessly coupledwith the electronic device 101.

The sensor module 176 may detect an operational state (e.g., power ortemperature) of the electronic device 101 or an environmental state(e.g., a state of a user) external to the electronic device 101, andthen generate an electrical signal or data value corresponding to thedetected state. According to an embodiment, the sensor module 176 mayinclude, for example, a gesture sensor, a gyro sensor, an atmosphericpressure sensor, a magnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor, a gripsensor, a proximity sensor, a color sensor, an infrared (IR) sensor, abiometric sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, or anilluminance sensor.

The interface 177 may support one or more specified protocols to be usedfor the electronic device 101 to be coupled with the external electronicdevice (e.g., the electronic device 102) directly (e.g., wiredly) orwirelessly. According to an embodiment, the interface 177 may include,for example, a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI), a universalserial bus (USB) interface, a secure digital (SD) card interface, or anaudio interface.

A connecting terminal 178 may include a connector via which theelectronic device 101 may be physically connected with the externalelectronic device (e.g., the electronic device 102). According to anembodiment, the connecting terminal 178 may include, for example, a HDMIconnector, a USB connector, a SD card connector, or an audio connector(e.g., a headphone connector),

The haptic module 179 may convert an electrical signal into a mechanicalstimulus (e.g., a vibration or a movement) or electrical stimulus whichmay be recognized by a user via his tactile sensation or kinestheticsensation. According to an embodiment, the haptic module 179 mayinclude, for example, a motor, a piezoelectric element, or an electricstimulator.

The camera module 180 may capture a still image or moving images.According to an embodiment, the camera module 180 may include one ormore lenses, image sensors, image signal processors, or flashes.

The power management module 188 may manage power supplied to theelectronic device 101. According to one embodiment, the power managementmodule 188 may be implemented as at least part of, for example, a powermanagement integrated circuit (PMIC).

The battery 189 may supply power to at least one component of theelectronic device 101. According to an embodiment, the battery 189 mayinclude, for example, a primary cell which is not rechargeable, asecondary cell which is rechargeable, or a fuel cell.

The communication module 190 may support establishing a direct (e.g.,wired) communication channel or a wireless communication channel betweenthe electronic device 101 and the external electronic device (e.g., theelectronic device 102, the electronic device 104, or the server 108) andperforming communication via the established communication channel. Thecommunication module 190 may include one or more communicationprocessors that are operable independently from the processor 120 (e.g.,the application processor (AP)) and supports a direct (e.g., wired)communication or a wireless communication. According to an embodiment,the communication module 190 may include a wireless communication module192 (e.g., a cellular communication module, a short-range wirelesscommunication module, or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS)communication module) or a wired communication module 194 (e.g., a localarea network (LAN) communication module or a power line communication(PLC) module). A corresponding one of these communication modules maycommunicate with the external electronic device via the first network198 (e.g., a short-range communication network, such as Bluetooth™,wireless-fidelity (Wi-Fi) direct, or infrared data association (IrDA))or the second network 199 (e.g., a long-range communication network,such as a cellular network, the Internet, or a computer network (e.g.,LAN or wide area network (WAN)). These various types of communicationmodules may be implemented as a single component (e.g., a single chip),or may be implemented as multi components (e.g., multi chips) separatefrom each other. The wireless communication module 192 may identify andauthenticate the electronic device 101 in a communication network, suchas the first network 198 or the second network 199, using subscriberinformation (e.g., international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI))stored in the subscriber identification module 196.

The antenna module 197 may transmit or receive a signal or power to orfrom the outside (e.g., the external electronic device) of theelectronic device 101. According to an embodiment, the antenna module197 may include one or more antennas, and, therefrom, at least oneantenna appropriate for a communication scheme used in the communicationnetwork, such as the first network 198 or the second network 199, may beselected, for example, by the communication module 190 (e.g., thewireless communication module 192). The signal or the power may then betransmitted or received between the communication module 190 and theexternal electronic device via the selected at least one antenna.

At least some of the above-described components may be coupled mutuallyand communicate signals (e.g., commands or data) therebetween via aninter-peripheral communication scheme (e.g., a bus, general purposeinput and output (GPIO), serial peripheral interface (SPI), or mobileindustry processor interface (MIPI)).

According to an embodiment, commands or data may be transmitted orreceived between the electronic device 101 and the external electronicdevice 104 via the server 108 coupled with the second network 199. Eachof the electronic devices 102 and 104 may be a device of a same type as,or a different type, from the electronic device 101. According to anembodiment, all or some of operations to be executed at the electronicdevice 101 may be executed at one or more of the external electronicdevices 102, 104, or 108. For example, if the electronic device 101should perform a function or a service automatically, or in response toa request from a user or another device, the electronic device 101,instead of, or in addition to, executing the function or the service,may request the one or more external electronic devices to perform atleast part of the function or the service. The one or more externalelectronic devices receiving the request may perform the at least partof the function or the service requested, or an additional function oran additional service related to the request, and transfer an outcome ofthe performing to the electronic device 101. The electronic device 101may provide the outcome, with or without further processing of theoutcome, as at least part of a reply to the request. To that end, acloud computing, distributed computing, or client-server computingtechnology may be used, for example.

The electronic device according to various embodiments may be one ofvarious types of electronic devices. The electronic devices may include,for example, and without limitation, a portable communication device(e.g., a smart phone), a computer device, a portable multimedia device,a portable medical device, a camera, a wearable device, a homeappliance, or the like. According to an embodiment of the disclosure,the electronic devices are not limited to those described above.

It should be appreciated that various embodiments of the presentdisclosure and the terms used therein are not intended to limit thetechnological features set forth herein to particular embodiments andinclude various changes, equivalents, or replacements for acorresponding embodiment. With regard to the description of thedrawings, similar reference numerals may be used to refer to similar orrelated elements. It is to be understood that a singular form of a nouncorresponding to an item may include one or more of the things, unlessthe relevant context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, eachof such phrases as “A or B,” “at least one of A and B,” “at least one ofA or B,” “A, B, or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” and “at least oneof A, B, or C,” may include all possible combinations of the itemsenumerated together in a corresponding one of the phrases. As usedherein, such terms as “1st” and “2nd,” or “first” and “second” may beused to simply distinguish a corresponding component from another, anddoes not limit the components in other aspect (e.g., importance ororder). It is to be understood that if an element (e.g., a firstelement) is referred to, with or without the term “operatively” or“communicatively”, as “coupled with,” “coupled to,” “connected with,” or“connected to” another element (e.g., a second element), the element maybe coupled with the other element directly (e.g., wiredly), wirelessly,or via a third element.

As used herein, the term “module” may include a unit implemented inhardware, software, firmware, or any combinations thereof, and mayinterchangeably be used with other terms, for example, “logic,” “logicblock,” “part,” or “circuitry”. A module may be a single integralcomponent, or a minimum unit or part thereof, adapted to perform one ormore functions. For example, according to an embodiment, the module maybe implemented in a form of an application-specific integrated circuit(ASIC).

Various embodiments as set forth herein may be implemented as software(e.g., the program 140) including one or more instructions that arestored in a storage medium (e.g., internal memory 136 or external memory138) that is readable by a machine (e.g., the electronic device 101).For example, a processor (e.g., the processor 120) of the machine (e.g.,the electronic device 101) may invoke at least one of the one or moreinstructions stored in the storage medium, and execute it, with orwithout using one or more other components under the control of theprocessor. This allows the machine to be operated to perform at leastone function according to the at least one instruction invoked. The oneor more instructions may include a code generated by a complier or acode executable by an interpreter. The machine-readable storage mediummay be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium. Wherein,the term “non-transitory” simply means that the storage medium is atangible device.

According to an embodiment, a method according to various embodiments ofthe disclosure may be included and provided in a computer programproduct. The computer program product may be traded as a product betweena seller and a buyer. The computer program product may be distributed inthe form of a machine-readable storage medium (e.g., compact disc readonly memory (CD-ROM)), or be distributed (e.g., downloaded or uploaded)online via an application store (e.g., Play Store™), or between two userdevices (e.g., smart phones) directly. If distributed online, at leastpart of the computer program product may be temporarily generated or atleast temporarily stored in the machine-readable storage medium, such asmemory of the manufacturer's server, a server of the application store,or a relay server.

According to various embodiments, each component (e.g., a module or aprogram) of the above-described components may include a single entityor multiple entities. According to various embodiments, one or more ofthe above-described components may be omitted, or one or more othercomponents may be added. Alternatively or additionally, a plurality ofcomponents (e.g., modules or programs) may be integrated into a singlecomponent. In such a case, according to various embodiments, theintegrated component may still perform one or more functions of each ofthe plurality of components in the same or similar manner as they areperformed by a corresponding one of the plurality of components beforethe integration. According to various embodiments, operations performedby the module, the program, or another component may be carried outsequentially, in parallel, repeatedly, or heuristically, or one or moreof the operations may be executed in a different order or omitted, orone or more other operations may be added.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram 200 illustrating the program 140 according tovarious embodiments. According to an embodiment, the program 140 mayinclude an operating system (OS) 142 to control one or more resources ofthe electronic device 101, middleware 144, and/or an application 146executable in the OS 142. The OS 142 may include, for example, Android™,iOS™, Windows™, Symbian™, Tizen™, or Bada™. At least part of the program140, for example, may be pre-loaded on the electronic device 101 duringmanufacture, or may be downloaded from or updated by an externalelectronic device (e.g., the electronic device 102 or 104, or the server108) during use by a user.

The OS 142 may control management (e.g., allocating or deallocation) ofone or more system resources (e.g., process, memory, or power source) ofthe electronic device 101. The OS 142, additionally or alternatively,may include one or more driver programs to drive other hardware devicesof the electronic device 101, for example, the input device 150, thesound output device 155, the display device 160, the audio module 170,the sensor module 176, the interface 177, the haptic module 179, thecamera module 180, the power management module 188, the battery 189, thecommunication module 190, the subscriber identification module 196, orthe antenna module 197.

The middleware 144 may provide various functions to the application 146such that a function or information provided from one or more resourcesof the electronic device 101 may be used by the application 146. Themiddleware 144 may include, for example, and without limitation, anapplication manager 201, a window manager 203, a multimedia manager 205,a resource manager 207, a power manager 209, a database manager 211, apackage manager 213, a connectivity manager 215, a notification manager217, a location manager 219, a graphic manager 221, a security manager223, a telephony manager 225, or a voice recognition manager 227.

The application manager 201, for example, may manage the life cycle ofthe application 146. The window manager 203, for example, may manage oneor more graphical user interface (GUI) resources that are used on ascreen. The multimedia manager 205, for example, may identify one ormore formats to be used to play media files, and may encode or decode acorresponding one of the media files using a codec appropriate for acorresponding format selected from the one or more formats. The resourcemanager 207, for example, may manage the source code of the application146 or a memory space of the memory 130. The power manager 209, forexample, may manage the capacity, temperature, or power of the battery189, and determine or provide related information to be used for theoperation of the electronic device 101 based at least in part oncorresponding information of the capacity, temperature, or power of thebattery 189. According to an embodiment, the power manager 209 mayinterwork with a basic input/output system (BIOS) (not shown) of theelectronic device 101.

The database manager 211, for example, may generate, search, or change adatabase to be used by the application 146. The package manager 213, forexample, may manage installation or update of an application that isdistributed in the form of a package file. The connectivity manager 215,for example, may manage a wireless connection or a direct connectionbetween the electronic device 101 and the external electronic device.The notification manager 217, for example, may provide a function tonotify a user of an occurrence of a specified event (e.g., an incomingcall, message, or alert). The location manager 219, for example, maymanage locational information on the electronic device 101. The graphicmanager 221, for example, may manage one or more graphic effects to beoffered to a user or a user interface related to the one or more graphiceffects.

The security manager 223, for example, may provide system security oruser authentication. The telephony manager 225, for example, may managea voice call function or a video call function provided by theelectronic device 101. The voice recognition manager 227, for example,may transmit a user's voice data to the server 108, and receive, fromthe server 108, a command corresponding to a function to be executed onthe electronic device 101 based at least in part on the voice data, ortext data converted based at least in part on the voice data. Accordingto an embodiment, the middleware 244 may dynamically delete someexisting components or add new components. According to an embodiment,at least part of the middleware 144 may be included as part of the OS142 or may be implemented as another software separate from the OS 142.

The application 146 may include, for example, and without limitation, ahome 251, dialer 253, short message service (SMS)/multimedia messagingservice (MMS) 255, instant message (IM) 257, browser 259, camera 261,alarm 263, contact 265, voice recognition 267, email 269, calendar 271,media player 273, album 275, watch 277, health 279 (e.g., for measuringthe degree of workout or biometric information, such as blood sugar),and/or environmental information 281 (e.g., for measuring air pressure,humidity, or temperature information) application, or the like.According to an embodiment, the application 146 may further include aninformation exchanging application (not shown) that is capable ofsupporting information exchange between the electronic device 101 andthe external electronic device. The information exchange application,for example, may include a notification relay application adapted totransfer designated information (e.g., a call, message, or alert) to theexternal electronic device or a device management application adapted tomanage the external electronic device. The notification relayapplication may transfer notification information corresponding to anoccurrence of a specified event (e.g., receipt of an email) at anotherapplication (e.g., the email application 269) of the electronic device101 to the external electronic device. Additionally or alternatively,the notification relay application may receive notification informationfrom the external electronic device and provide the notificationinformation to a user of the electronic device 101.

The device management application may control the power (e.g., turn-onor turn-off) or the function (e.g., adjustment of brightness,resolution, or focus) of the external electronic device or somecomponent thereof (e.g., a display device or a camera module of theexternal electronic device). The device management application,additionally or alternatively, may support installation, delete, orupdate of an application running on the external electronic device.

In various embodiments of the disclosure, a universal integrated circuitcard (UICC) may, for example, include a smart card inserted into amobile communication terminal, and may refer to a chip in which personalinformation such as network connection authentication information, phonebook, SMS, etc., of a mobile communication subscriber is stored andsubscriber authentication and traffic security key generation areperformed when connecting to a mobile communication network such as GSM,WCDMA, LTE, or the like to enable secure mobile communication use. TheUICC may be equipped with a communication application such as asubscriber identification module (SIM), a universal SIM (USIM), or an IPmultimedia SIM (ISIM) depending on the type of the mobile communicationnetwork to which a subscriber is connected. In addition, the UICC canprovide a high level security function for mounting various applicationssuch as electronic wallet, ticketing, e-passport, etc.

In various embodiments of the disclosure, an embedded UICC (eUICC) maybe a chip type security module embedded in a terminal rather than beingdetachable therefrom, which can be inserted into or detached from theterminal. The eUICC may download and install a profile using over theair (OTA) technology. The eUICC can be named UICC, which can downloadand install profiles.

In various embodiments of the disclosure, a method of downloading andinstalling a profile using OTA technology in the eUICC can be applied toa detachable UICC that can be inserted into or detached from a terminal.The embodiments of the disclosure can be applied to a UICC that candownload and install a profile using OTA technology.

In various embodiments of the disclosure, the term ‘UICC’ may be usedinterchangeably with a SIM, and the term ‘eUICC’ may be usedinterchangeably with an embedded SIM (eSIM).

In various embodiments of the disclosure, a profile may refer, forexample, to an application, a file system, an authentication key value,or the like stored in the UICC is packaged in a software form.

In various embodiments of the disclosure, a USIM profile may have thesame meaning as the profile, or may refer, for example, to informationcontained in a USIM application in a profile packaged in a softwareform.

In various embodiments of the disclosure, a profile providing server maybe expressed as a subscription manager data preparation (SM-DP), asubscription manager data preparation plus (SM-DP+), an off-card entityof profile domain, a profile encryption server, a profile creationserver, a profile provisioner (PP), a profile provider, a profileprovisioning credentials holder (PPC holder) or server, or the like.

In various embodiments of the disclosure, a profile information deliveryserver may be expressed as a discovery and push function (DPF) or asubscription manager discovery service (SM-DS).

In various embodiments of the disclosure, a profile management servermay be expressed as a subscription manager secure routing (SM-SR), asubscription manager secure routing plus (SM-SR +), an off-card entityof eUICC profile manager, a profile management credentials holder (PMCholder), or an EM eUICC manager (EM).

In various embodiments of the disclosure, a profile server may beexpressed as a server on which at least one of operations performed by aprofile providing server, a profile management server, and a profileinformation delivery server can be performed.

The term ‘terminal’ as used in various embodiments herein may bereferred to a mobile station (MS), a user equipment (UE), a userterminal (UT), a wireless terminal, an access terminal (AT), a terminal,a subscriber unit, a subscriber station (SS), a wireless device, awireless communication device, a wireless transmission/reception unit(WTRU), a mobile node, a mobile, or other terminologies. Variousexamples of the terminal may include a cellular phone, a smart phonehaving a wireless communication function, a personal digital assistant(PDA) having a wireless communication function, a wireless modem, aportable computer having a wireless communication function, aphotographing device such as a digital camera having a wirelesscommunication function, a gaming device having a wireless communicationfunction, a music storage and playback appliance having a wirelesscommunication function, an Internet appliance capable of wirelessInternet connection and browsing, a wearable device capable of beingattached to or detached from a user's body, and a portable unit orterminals incorporating combinations of such functions. In addition, theterminal may include a machine to machine (M2M) terminal and a machinetype communication (MTC) terminal/device, but is not limited thereto. Invarious embodiments of the disclosure, the terminal may be referred toas an electronic device.

In various embodiments of the disclosure, a UICC that can download andinstall a profile may be embedded in an electronic device or an externalelectronic device. If the UICC is not embedded in the electronic device,the UICC physically separated from the electronic device may be insertedinto the electronic device and connected to the electronic device. Forexample, the UICC in the form of a card can be inserted into theelectronic device. The electronic device may include the terminal, andat this time, the terminal may be a terminal including a UICC that candownload and install a profile. The UICC may be embedded or inserted inthe terminal. The UICC that can download and install a profile may bereferred to as, for example, an eUICC.

In various embodiments of the disclosure, a profile identifier may bereferred to as a factor matching with a profile ID, an integratedcircuit card ID (ICCID), an ISD-P, or a profile domain (PD). The profileID may represent a unique identifier of each profile.

In various embodiments of the disclosure, an eUICC identifier (eUICC ID)may be a unique identifier of an eUICC embedded in a terminal and may bereferred to as an eUICC ID (EID). If a provisioning profile is loaded inthe eUICC, the eUICC ID may refer to an identifier of the correspondingprovisioning profile (profile ID of the provisioning profile). If aterminal and an eUICC chip are not separated, the eUICC ID may be aterminal ID. The eUICC ID may be referred to as a specific secure domainof the eUICC chip.

Hereinafter, an electronic device according to various embodiments ofthe disclosure will be described in greater detail.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the relationship among anelectronic device 300, an external electronic device 400, and anexternal server 450 according to various embodiments of the disclosure

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the electronicdevice 300, the external electronic device 400, and the external server450 may include at least some of various components included in anelectronic device 101 shown in FIG. 1.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device 300 may beconnected to the external electronic device 400 using variouscommunication means (e.g., which may be referred to variouscommunication means capable of performing data transmission/reception,such as a short-distance communication means such as Bluetooth, NFC, orWi-Fi, a long-distance communication means such as LTE or 5G, etc.).According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the electronicdevice 300 may perform at least a part of an operation of installing, onthe external electronic device 400, a profile for the externalelectronic device 400 to use a communication service provided by acommunication service provider (e.g., various communication means suchas 3G LTE, 4G, 5G etc.). According to various embodiments of thedisclosure, the electronic device 300 may perform at least a part of anoperation of managing (e.g., changing a communication service plan,deactivating a communication service, performing communication serviceunsubscription) a communication service available to the externalelectronic device 400, or the like.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the externalelectronic device 400 may refer to an electronic device thattransmits/receives various data using a communication service providedby a communication service provider. For example, the externalelectronic device 400 may include a smart phone, a wearable device,various electronic devices supporting IoT, and the like. A profile maybe installed in the external electronic device 400 in order to use acommunication service provided by a communication service provider.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the UICC that candownload and install a profile may be embedded in the externalelectronic device 400. The UICC, which is physically separated from theexternal electronic device 400, may be inserted into and connected tothe electronic device. For example, the UICC in the form of a card maybe inserted into the external electronic device 400. The UICC may beembedded in or inserted into the external electronic device 400 to beconnected to the external electronic device 400. The UICC that candownload and install a profile may be referred to as, for example, aneUICC.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the profile mayrefer to connection information for connection to a communicationcompany that manages communication used by the external electronicdevice. The connection information may include an international mobilesubscriber identity (IMSI) which is a type of subscriber identifier, anda value required for authentication for the use of a network provided bya communication company together with the subscriber identifier.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the external server450 may refer to a server (e.g., an entitlement server) that performseligibility management for the communication service used by theexternal electronic device 400 or the electronic device 300. Theexternal electronic device 450 may store information on a plan availableto a user of the electronic device 300 or the external electronic device400 and information on at least one service available to the externalelectronic device 400, and may transmit, to the electronic device 300 orthe external electronic device 400, identifiers of at least one serviceavailable to the user of the electronic device 300 or the externalelectronic device 400 in response to a request from the electronicdevice 300 or the external electronic device 400. Alternatively, theexternal server 450 may determine whether the electronic device 300 orthe external electronic device 400 is authorized to use thecommunication service, based on data transmitted by the electronicdevice 300 (e.g., device information of the electronic device 300 ordevice information of the external electronic device 400). According tovarious embodiments, the external server 450 may have lower securitythan that of a profile providing server. For example, data that requireslower security than that of the profile (e.g., at least one identifieror configuration information associated with a communication service)may be provided.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the configurationinformation associated with the communication service may refer to datathat can be used to activate or deactivate the communication service.For example, the configuration information associated with thecommunication service may include various information such asinformation (e.g., which may refer to information in the form of flag inwhich data indicating function activation is denoted by 1 and dataindicating function deactivation is denoted by 0) indicating whether toactivate or deactivate at least one communication service or whether toactivate or deactivate at least some of functions associated with thecommunication service, or information indicating whether to activateother services associated with the communication service correspondingto the configuration information.

Although FIG. 3 shows that the external electronic device 400 and theexternal server 450 are singular, this is shown for convenience ofexplanation, and the external electronic device 400 and the externalserver 450, which may be connected to the electronic device 300, may beplural.

FIG. 4A is a block diagram illustrating the electronic device 300according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 4A, the electronic device 300 according to variousembodiments of the disclosure may include a first communication module(e.g., including communication circuitry) 310, a second communicationmodule (e.g., including communication circuitry) 320, a processor (e.g.,including processing circuitry) 330, and a memory 340.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the firstcommunication module 310 may include various communication circuitry andestablish a first communication connection corresponding to a firstcommunication method with the external server 450, and may transmit andreceive data to and from the external server 450. According to variousembodiments of the disclosure, the first communication method may referto a communication method (e.g., a cellular communication method, aWi-Fi communication method, or the like) capable of establishing aconnection with the external server 450.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the electronicdevice 300 may receive data required for installing a profile in aneUICC included in the external electronic device 400 through the firstcommunication module 310. The data required for installing the profilemay be received from a profile providing server (not shown) (e.g., anSM-DP+ server) provided by a communication service provider. The datarequired for installing the profile may be provided in the form of anencrypted profile package. The encryption of the profile may follow astandard specification defined in SGP. 22, but is not limited thereto.The data required for installing the profile may include the profile.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the secondcommunication module 320 may include various communication circuitry andestablish a second communication connection corresponding to a secondcommunication method (e.g., including a short-distance communicationmethod such as Bluetooth, NFC, Wi-Fi direct, or the like) with theexternal electronic device 400.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, when receiving theprofile, the processor 330 may include various processing circuitry andperform at least a part of an operation of installing the profile in theexternal electronic device 400.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor 330may retrieve an address of a profile providing server that provides theprofile.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor 330may receive a profile download address list stored in the externalelectronic device 400 from the external electronic device 400, in orderto receive the profile. The processor 330 may make a connection to theaddress of at least one profile providing server included in the profiledownload address list, and may attempt to download the profile from theconnected server if the connection is successful.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor 330may make a connection to at least one profile providing server addressincluded in the profile download address list stored in the externalelectronic device 400, and may attempt to make a connection to theaddress of the server included in the profile download address liststored in the electronic device 300 if the downloading of the profilefails. If the connection is successful, the processor 330 may attempt todownload the profile from the connected profile providing server.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor 330may make a connection to at least one profile providing server addressincluded in the profile download address list stored in the electronicdevice 300, and may verify a mobile country code (MCC) stored in amemory 440 of the external electronic device 400 if the downloading ofthe profile fails. The processor 330 may attempt to be connected to theaddress of the profile providing server of at least one carriercorresponding to the MCC, and may attempt to download the profile fromthe connected profile providing server.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, if the downloadingof the profile fails, the profile may not be present in the profileproviding server. In a case in which the profile does not exist, it maybe caused by various causes. This may be because the user of theexternal electronic device 400 may not be registered in thecommunication service provided by the communication service provider, orthe external electronic device 400 has not yet been registered even ifthe user has been subscribed in the communication service.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the electronicdevice 300 may receive, from the profile providing server or theexternal server 450, an indication that the downloading of the profilehas failed or an indication that the profile does not exist in theprofile providing server.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, when the processor330 receives the indication that the profile does not exist in theprofile providing server, the processor 330 may transmit, to theexternal server 450 or the profile providing server, a request for a webaddress to be used for subscription to the communication service for theexternal electronic device 400.

The external server 450 may request generation of the profile from theprofile providing server according to services available to the externalelectronic device 400. To this end, the external server 450 may transmita web address capable of selecting a plan or the like, which can be usedby the external electronic device 400, to the electronic device 300 togenerate the profile. The processor 330 may receive the web address andmay receive a user input in which a user performs a plan selection on aweb page. The processor 330 may transmit the user input to the externalserver 450. The external server 450 may proceed with communicationservice subscription of the external electronic device 400 based on theuser input, and may request the profile providing server to generate orprovide the profile of the external electronic device 400. The processor330 may request downloading of the profile from the profile providingserver, may receive the profile from the profile providing server, andmay transmit the received profile to the external electronic device 400.

The processor 330 may transmit the downloaded profile to the externalelectronic device 400. The processor 330 may control the externalelectronic device 400 to install the received profile or may transmit arequest for installing the profile to the external electronic device400.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor 330may install the profile in the UICC included in the external electronicdevice 400. For example, the profile may be received as a profilepackage in an encrypted form. The processor 330 may perform a decryptionoperation on the encrypted profile package and may install the profileon the UICC included in the external electronic device 400 using thedecrypted profile package. A process of installing the profile may beperformed using OTA technology. An encryption key used for encryptionand decryption may be an encryption key generated through mutualauthentication between the electronic device 300 and the profileproviding server, and may follow a standard specification defined inSGP. 22, but is not limited thereto.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor 330may transmit device information of the electronic device 300 to theexternal server 450. The processor 330 may receive device information ofthe external electronic device 400 from the external electronic device400, and may transmit the device information of the external electronicdevice 400 and the device information of the electronic device 300 tothe external server 450. The device information of the electronic device300 or the device information of the external electronic device 400 maybe used to retrieve services available to the electronic device 300 orthe external electronic device 400 in the external server 450. Accordingto an embodiment, the processor 330 may receive information of theexternal electronic device 400 through the establishment of the secondcommunication connection corresponding to the second communicationmethod (e.g., including a short-distance communication method such asBluetooth, Wi-Fi direct, NFC, or the like) with the external electronicdevice 400.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the external server450 may retrieve at least one service available to the electronic device300 or the external electronic device 400 using the device informationof the electronic device 300 or the device information of the externalelectronic device 400. The external server 450 may transmit identifiersof the at least one services available to the external electronic device400 to the electronic device 300.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the servicesavailable to the external electronic device 400 may include servicesthat can be executed in association with the electronic device 300 andthe external electronic device 400. For example, the services availableto the external electronic device 400 may include services (e.g.,one-number service transmitting/receiving a call based on the sametelephone number) that can be provided by a plurality of electronicdevices (e.g., the electronic device 300 and the external electronicdevice 400) based on the same telephone number, automatic phoneforwarding services which are automatically forwarded to otherelectronic devices if there is no response in a situation where a callis received at one of the plurality of electronic devices (e.g., theelectronic device 300 and the external electronic device 400), cellularmodem ON/OFF services for automatically activating/deactivating a modemusing a cellular communication, message sync services or telephonehistory sync services for synchronizing message and telephonetransmission/reception histories between the plurality of electronicdevices (e.g., the electronic device 300 and the external electronicdevice 400), and the like.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor 330may select a service that can be executed in association with theelectronic device 300 and the external electronic device 400 or aservice that is not executed in the electronic device 300 but can beexecuted in the external electronic device 400, and may perform at leasta part of an operation of activating the selected service.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor 330may transmit control information based on at least a part of anidentifier corresponding to at least one service to the externalelectronic device 400 so that the at least one service can be activatedin the external electronic device 400. At least one identifier mayinclude at least one of a service name and a service identifier. The atleast one identifier may be implemented in various forms, such as alist, a table, a file, etc. The control information based on at least apart of the identifier may include configuration information transmittedby the external server 450. According to various embodiments of thedisclosure, the processor 330 may transmit a signal requestingactivation of at least one service of services corresponding to thereceived service identifier to the external server 450. The externalserver 450 may receive the service activation request signal transmittedby the electronic device 300, and may activate a service correspondingto the activation request signal. The processor 330 may control theexternal electronic device 400 to activate the service corresponding tothe received service identifier.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the external server450 may transmit configuration for using the service after the serviceactivation, to the electronic device 300. The processor 330 may activatethe service using the received configuration so that the externalelectronic device 400 can use the service. For example, the processor330 may activate the service in a manner that sets the profile stored inthe external electronic device 400, based on the configurationinformation.

According to another embodiment, when the configuration information istransmitted to the external server 450, the external server 450 maytransmit the configuration information to the electronic device 300. Forexample, the external server 450 may determine whether the users of theelectronic device 300 and the external electronic device 400 are thesame and whether the one-number service operated based on the samenumber is available by the electronic device 300 and the externalelectronic device 400. The external server 450 may activate theone-number service based on the determination result, and may transmitconfiguration information on the one-number service to the electronicdevice 300. The processor 330 may control the external electronic device400 to activate the one-number service using the received configurationinformation.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the configurationinformation may not be transmitted from the external server 400 but maybe stored in advance in the memory 340. The processor 330 may receivethe identifier corresponding to the at least one service from theexternal server 400, and may transmit a service activation request tothe external server 400. The processor 330 may invoke the configurationinformation corresponding to the identifier from the memory 340 inresponse to reception of a response message to the service activationrequest by the external server 400.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor 330may transmit, to the external electronic device 400, configurationinformation that is used for the external electronic device 400 toactivate a first function associated with the at least one service or todeactivate a second function associated with the at least one service,as a part of the control information. For example, the processor 330 maydetermine whether the one-number service is activated by the externalelectronic device 400. The processor 330 may control the externalelectronic device 400 to deactivate an automatic phone forwardingfunction in response to the determination result indicating that theone-number service has been activated, or may transmit a deactivationrequest signal to the external electronic device 400.

By way of another example, the processor 330 may control the externalelectronic device 400 to activate an automatic cellular modemactivation/deactivation function according to whether a connectionbetween the external electronic device 400 and the electronic device 300using a short-distance communication means is established, in responseto the determination result indicating that the one-number service hasbeen activated.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor 330may receive a designated application corresponding to at least oneservice from the external server 400. The designated application may bevarious applications required to use the at least one service. Theprocessor 330 may transmit the designated application received from theexternal server 400, to the external electronic device 400. The externalelectronic device 400 may use the at least one service using thereceived application.

The memory 340 may store device information corresponding to theelectronic device 300. The device information corresponding to theelectronic device 300 may refer to identification information (e.g.,which may include various information capable of distinguishing theelectronic device 300 from other electronic devices, such as IMSI, MACaddress, etc., of the electronic device 300) of the electronic device300. According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the deviceinformation corresponding to the electronic device 300 may betransmitted to the external server 450, and the external server 450 mayretrieve services available to the external electronic device 450 usingthe device information corresponding to the electronic device 300.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the memory 340 mayinclude a database manager 341 configured to manage various data (e.g.,the device information of the electronic device 300) stored in thememory 340, a device management application 343 configured to performthe function of various external electronic devices (e.g., the externalelectronic device 400 of FIG. 3) connected to the electronic device 300,and an information exchange application 345 configured to perform anoperation of transmitting/receiving data to and from the variousexternal electronic devices (e.g., the external electronic device 400 ofFIG. 3) connected to the electronic device 300. The database manager341, the device management application 343, or the information exchangeapplication 345 may be included in a program module (e.g., the program140 of FIG. 1), and may include at least one instruction so that theinstructions may be loaded into the processor 330 to perform adesignated operation.

FIG. 4B is a block diagram illustrating the external electronic device400 according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 4B, the external electronic device 400 according tovarious embodiments of the disclosure may include a first communicationmodule (e.g., including communication circuitry) 410, a secondcommunication module (e.g., including communication circuitry) 420, aprocessor (e.g., including processing circuitry) 430, and a memory 440.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the firstcommunication module 410 may include various communication circuitry andestablish a first communication connection corresponding to a firstcommunication method (e.g., a cellular network, Wi-Fi, or the like) withan external server (e.g., the external server 450 of FIG. 3).

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the secondcommunication module 420 may include various communication circuitry andestablish a second communication connection corresponding to a secondcommunication method (e.g., a short-distance communication method suchas Bluetooth, NFC, Wi-Fi direct, or the like) with an electronic device(e.g., the electronic device 300 of FIG. 3).

The processor 430 may include various processing circuitry and establishthe first communication connection with the external server 450 usingthe first communication module 410, and may transmit device informationof the external electronic device 400 directly to the external server450. The device information of the external electronic device 400 may beused to retrieve services available to the external electronic device400 in the external server 450. The device information of the externalelectronic device 400 may include identification information (e.g.,which may include various information capable of distinguishing theexternal electronic device 400 from other electronic devices, such asIMSI, MAC address, etc., of the external electronic device 400) of theexternal electronic device 400.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the external server450 may retrieve services available to the external electronic device400 based on the device information transmitted by the externalelectronic device 400, and may transmit at least one service identifieravailable to the external electronic device 400 to the externalelectronic device 400.

The processor 400 may receive the service identifier transmitted by theexternal server 450, and may transmit an activation request signal basedon the identifier corresponding to the service to the external server450. The external server 450 may perform activation of the servicecorresponding to the activation request signal in response to thereception of the activation request signal.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor 400may be connected to the electronic device 300 using the secondcommunication method. The processor 400 may receive a profiletransmitted by the electronic device 300, and may install the profile ona UICC. The processor 400 may receive the service activation requestsignal transmitted by the electronic device 300, and may perform atleast a part of a service activation operation using configurationinformation.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the memory 440 mayinclude a database manager 441 configured to manage various data (e.g.,device information of the external electronic device 400) stored in thememory 440, a device management application 443 configured to performthe functions of various electronic devices (e.g., the electronic device300 of FIG. 3) connected to the external electronic device 400, and aninformation exchange application 445 configured to control an operationof transmitting/receiving data to and from the various externalelectronic devices (e.g., the electronic device 300 of FIG. 3) connectedto the external electronic device 400.

The database manager 441, the device management application 443, or theinformation exchange application 445 may be included in a program module(e.g., the program 140 of FIG. 1), and may include at least oneinstruction so that the instructions may be loaded into the processor400 to perform a designated operation.

FIG. 4C is a block diagram illustrating the external server 450according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 4C, the external server 450 according to variousembodiments of the disclosure may include a first communication module(e.g., including communication circuitry) 451, a processor (e.g.,including processing circuitry) 453, and a memory 455.

The first communication module 451 may include various communicationcircuitry and establish a first communication connection correspondingto a first communication method (e.g., a cellular network or the like)with an electronic device (e.g., the electronic device 300 of FIG. 3).

The processor 453 may include various processing circuitry and establisha communication connection with the electronic device 300 or theexternal electronic device 400 using the first communication module 451.According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor 453may control the first communication module 451 to establish acommunication connection with the electronic device 300, in response toreception of a signal requesting a communication connection transmittedby the electronic device 300.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor 453may receive device information of the electronic device 300 transmittedby the electronic device 300. The processor 453 may retrievecommunication services available to an external electronic device (e.g.,the external electronic device 400 of FIG. 3) connected to theelectronic device 300 based on the device information of the electronicdevice 300, and may transmit identifiers of the communication servicesavailable to the external electronic device 400 to the electronic device300.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor 453may perform an activation operation of the communication service inresponse to reception of an activation request signal of thecommunication service transmitted by the electronic device 300. Forexample, the processor 453 may transmit configuration informationassociated with the communication service corresponding to theactivation request signal to the electronic device 300. Theconfiguration information associated with the communication service maybe used for the electronic device 300 and the external electronic device400 to activate the communication service.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor 453may perform the activation operation of the communication service, inresponse to the reception of the communication service activationrequest signal transmitted by the external electronic device 400. Forexample, the processor 453 may transmit the configuration informationassociated with the communication service corresponding to theactivation request signal to the external electronic device 400. Theconfiguration information associated with the communication service maybe used for the external electronic device 400 to activate thecommunication service.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the memory 455 maytemporarily or non-temporarily store the device information of theelectronic device 300 and the external electronic device 400, a list ofat least one service available to the external electronic device 400,configuration information associated with the service, and the like.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart 500 illustrating profile downloading andinstallation on an external electronic device, in an electronic deviceaccording to various embodiments of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 5, in operation 510, the processor 330 according tovarious embodiments of the disclosure may set a network that can beconnected to the external server 450. According to various embodimentsof the disclosure, the processor 330 may control the first communicationmodule 310 for establishing the first communication connectioncorresponding to the first communication method (e.g., a cellularnetwork, Wi-Fi, or the like) which may refer to a communication methodcapable of establishing a connection with the external server 450,thereby setting the network that can be connected to the external server450.

In operation 520, the processor 330 according to various embodiments ofthe disclosure may determine whether a profile to be downloaded existsin the profile providing server. The processor 330 may search for theaddress of the profile providing server to determine whether the profileexists.

According to an embodiment, the processor 330 may make a connection toan address of a server included in a profile download address liststored in the external electronic device 400 in order to receive theprofile, and may attempt to download the profile from the connectedserver if the connection is successful.

According to an embodiment, the processor 330 may make a connection tothe address of the profile providing server included in the profiledownload address list stored in the external electronic device 400, andmay attempt to make a connection to an address of a server included in aprofile download address list stored in the electronic device 300 if thedownloading of the profile fails. The processor 330 may attempt todownload the profile from the connected profile providing server if theconnection is successful.

According to an embodiment, the processor 330 may make a connection tothe address of the profile providing server included in the profiledownload address list stored in the electronic device 300, and mayverify an MCC of the external electronic device 400 if the downloadingof the profile fails. The processor 330 may attempt to make a connectionto an address of a profile providing server of at least one carriercorresponding to the MCC, and may attempt to download the profile fromthe connected profile providing server.

In operation 530, the processor 330 according to various embodiments ofthe disclosure may download and install the profile if the profile to bedownloaded exists (‘Yes’ of operation 520). The processor 330 mayreceive the profile from the profile providing server. The processor 330may transmit the received profile to the external electronic device 400.The external electronic device 400 may perform an operation ofinstalling the profile transmitted by the processor 330 on the UICC ofthe external electronic device 400.

In operation 540, the processor 330 according to various embodiments ofthe disclosure may activate services available to the externalelectronic device 400. According to various embodiments of thedisclosure, the processor 330 may transmit device information of theelectronic device 300 to the external server 450, and may request aservice identifier available to the external electronic device 400 fromthe external server 450. The external server 450 may transmit at leastone identifier corresponding to the services available to the externalelectronic device 400 to the electronic device 300. The processor 330may transmit a service activation request signal requesting activationof at least one of the services available to the external electronicdevice 400, to the external server 450. The external server 450 maytransmit configuration information associated with the correspondingservice to the electronic device 300 in response to reception of theservice activation request signal. The processor 330 may activate theservices available to the external electronic device 400 using theconfiguration information transmitted by the external server 450.Alternatively, the processor 330 may activate the services available tothe external electronic device 400 using the configuration informationcorresponding to the identifier of the service to be activated among theconfiguration information stored in a memory (e.g., the memory 340 ofFIG. 4A).

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, when receiving anindication that the profile to be downloaded does not exist in theprofile providing server, the processor 330 may transmit an eligibilityverification request message to the external server 450. The processor330 may receive, from the profile providing server, the indication thatthe profile to be downloaded does not exist in the profile providingserver. The processor 330 may determine that the profile does not existin the profile providing server, in response to reception of theindication that the profile to be downloaded does not exist in theprofile providing server.

In operation 550, the external server 450 according to variousembodiments of the disclosure may determine whether the communicationservice used by the user of the electronic device 300 has eligibilityavailable to the external electronic device 400 if the profile to bedownloaded does not exist (‘No’ of operation 520). For example, theeligibility available to the external electronic device 400 may refer toeligibility associated with whether the communication service used bythe user of the electronic device 300 can be simultaneously used by theexternal electronic device 400 or eligibility associated with whetherthe external electronic device 400 alone can use the communicationservice.

In operation 560, the external server 450 according to variousembodiments of the disclosure may perform a communication servicesubscription procedure, in response to determining that thecommunication service used by the user of the electronic device 300 haseligibility available to the external electronic device 400 (‘Yes’ ofoperation 550). For example, the external server 450 may transmit a webaddress for communication service subscription to the electronic device300. According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the processor330 may display a communication service subscription page forcommunication service subscription on a display. The electronic device300 and the external server 450 may perform a series of operations forcommunication service subscription to the external electronic device400, and may download and install the profile, which are described inoperation 530.

FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 are flowcharts illustrating an operation of downloadinga profile and installing a profile on an external electronic device, inan electronic device according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, various operations for installing aprofile on the external electronic device 400 among an electronic device(e.g., the electronic device 300 of FIG. 3), a first external server(e.g., the external server 450 of FIG. 3), an external electronic device(e.g., the external electronic device 400 of FIG. 3), and a secondexternal server 600 are illustrated. The second external server 600 mayrefer to a profile providing server providing a profile to be installedin the external electronic device 400.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a first example 600 of downloading aprofile and installing the profile on an external electronic device, inan electronic device according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 6, in operation 601, the electronic device 300 and theexternal electronic device 400 may perform a communication connectionfor interconnection through various communication means. According tovarious embodiments of the disclosure, the electronic device 300 and theexternal electronic device 400 may perform interconnection using ashort-distance communication means (e.g., Bluetooth, NFC, or the like).

In operation 603, the electronic device 300 may perform a userauthentication operation with the first external server 450. Accordingto various embodiments of the disclosure, user authentication betweenthe electronic device 300 and the first external server 450 may use anauthentication method defined in 3GPP, OAuth, or the like, but there isno limitation on the authentication method.

In operation 605, the electronic device 300 may transmit deviceinformation and an eligibility verification request signal to the firstexternal server 450.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the electronicdevice 300 may generate a token for communicating with the firstexternal server 450. The generated token may be used for communicationbetween the electronic device 300 and the first external server 450performed for communication service subscription of the externalelectronic device 400.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the electronicdevice 300 may transmit device information of the electronic device 300for a procedure of verifying a communication service eligibility of theelectronic device 300 performed by the first external server 450. Thedevice information of the electronic device 300 may includeidentification information of the electronic device 300. Theidentification information may include various information capable ofdistinguishing the electronic device 300 from other electronic devices,such as an IMSI of the electronic device 300, an MAC address of theelectronic device 300, a serial number defined by the manufacturer ofthe electronic device 300, and the like.

The first external server 450 may verify the eligibility of theelectronic device 300, using the identification information of theelectronic device 300 transmitted by the electronic device 300. Theeligibility of the electronic device 300 may include eligibility that acommunication service plan of the electronic device 300 can support thecommunication service of the external electronic device 400.

In operation 607, the first external server 450 may transmit aneligibility verification response signal to the electronic device 300.The eligibility verification response signal may include a resultobtained by verifying the eligibility capable of supporting thecommunication service of the external electronic device 400, which hasbeen verified by the first external server 450.

In operation 609, the electronic device 300 may transmit a communicationservice subscription request signal to the first external server 450.The communication service subscription request signal may refer to asignal for requesting subscription to the communication service in whichthe external electronic device 400 performs communication using acellular network.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the communicationservice subscription request signal may include a signal for requestinga webpage address capable of inputting terms for using the communicationservice and whether a user agrees with the terms. The electronic device300 may transmit identification information (e.g., IMSI of the externalelectronic device 400) of the external electronic device 400 togetherwith the communication service subscription request signal.

In operation 611, the first external server 450 may transmit the web orpage address for communication service subscription to the electronicdevice 300.

In operation 613, the first external server 450 and the electronicdevice 300 may proceed with a communication service subscriptionoperation of the external electronic device 400.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first externalserver 450 may transmit the web address capable of inputting terms forusing the communication service and whether a user agrees with theterms, to the electronic device 300. If there is input data on the termsfor the user to use the communication service and whether the useragrees with the terms, the first external server 450 may not transmitthe web address capable of inputting terms for using the communicationservice and whether the user agrees with the terms.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the electronicdevice 300 may transmit a request signal for selecting a plan for thecommunication service to the first external server 450. The firstexternal server 450 may transmit various plan information provided forthe communication service to the electronic device 300. The electronicdevice 300 may output the plan information on the display, may receive auser input for selecting the plan, and may transmit the user input tothe first external server 450.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first externalserver 450 may transmit, to the second external server 600, a signalrequesting the generation of the profile to be installed in the externalelectronic device 400, in response to completion of the subscriptionprocedure of the communication service used by the external electronicdevice 400. The second external server 600 may receive the signalrequesting the generation of the profile and may generate the profile ofthe external electronic device 400.

In operation 615, the electronic device 300 may transmit a profiletransmission request signal requesting the transmission of the profile,to the second external server 600. In operation 617, the second externalserver 600 may transmit the generated profile to the electronic device300.

In operation 619, the electronic device 300 and the external electronicdevice 400 may perform at least a part of an operation of installing thedownloaded profile. The operation of installing the profile in theexternal electronic device 400 may be performed according to thestandard specification defined in GSMA SGP. 22.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the electronicdevice 300 may install the profile in the UICC included in the externalelectronic device 400. For example, the profile may be received as aprofile package in an encrypted form. The electronic device 300 mayperform a decryption operation on the encrypted profile package and mayinstall the profile on the UICC included in the external electronicdevice 400 using the decrypted profile package. A process of installingthe profile may be performed using OTA technology. An encryption keyused for encryption and decryption may be an encryption key generatedthrough mutual authentication between the electronic device 300 and thesecond external server 600. The encryption method may follow thestandard specification defined in GSMA SGP. 22, and there is nolimitation to this.

In operation 621, the electronic device 300 may transmit a signalrequesting service activation to the first external server 450.According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the service mayrefer to various communication services using a cellular networkprovided by a communication service provider of the external electronicdevice 400. The electronic device 300 may request transmission ofconfiguration information required to use the service while transmittingthe signal requesting the service activation to the first externalserver 450.

In operation 623, the first external server 450 may perform serviceactivation and may transmit configuration information associated withthe activated service to the electronic device 300.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the electronicdevice 300 may store configuration information associated with theservice available to the external electronic device 500 in the memory340 in advance. When the configuration information is stored in thememory 340, the electronic device 300 may not request the transmissionof the configuration information from the external server 450. When theconfiguration information is stored in the memory 340, the electronicdevice 300 may invoke, from the memory 340, configuration informationcorresponding to an identifier of the service to be activated, and thenmay use the invoked configuration information.

In operation 625, the external electronic device 400 and the electronicdevice 300 may perform service activation using the configurationinformation.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the external server450 may activate the corresponding service, and then may transmit theconfiguration information for using the service to the electronic device300. The processor 330 may perform communication service activationusing the received configuration information so that the externalelectronic device 400 can utilize the activated service. The externalelectronic device 400 may perform communication service activation usingthe configuration information transmitted by the processor 330.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the services mayinclude one-number services in which a plurality of electronic devices(e.g., the electronic device 300 and the external electronic device 400)transmits and receives a call based on the same phone number, automaticphone forwarding services which are automatically forwarded to otherelectronic devices if there is no response in a situation where a callis received at one of the plurality of electronic devices (e.g., theelectronic device 300 and the external electronic device 400), cellularmodem ON/OFF services for automatically activating/deactivating a modemusing a cellular communication, message sync services or telephonehistory sync services for synchronizing message and telephonetransmission/reception histories between the plurality of electronicdevices (e.g., the electronic device 300 and the external electronicdevice 400), and the like.

For example, the first external server 450 may determine whether theusers of the electronic device 300 and the external electronic device400 are the same and whether the electronic device 300 and the externalelectronic device 400 can be operated with the same number. The firstexternal server 450 may activate the one-number service based on thedetermination result, and may transmit configuration information on theone-number service to the electronic device 300. The processor 330 mayactivate the communication service available to the external electronicdevice 400 using the received configuration information. Alternatively,the external electronic device 400 may activate the communicationservice using the configuration information transmitted by the processor330.

By way of another example, the electronic device 300 may determinewhether the one-number service is activated by the external electronicdevice 400, based on device information of the external electronicdevice 400. The electronic device 300 may transmit configurationinformation for deactivating an automatic phone forwarding function tothe external electronic device 400, in response to the determinationresult indicating that the one-number service is activated.

By way of another example, the electronic device 300 may determinewhether the one-number service is activated by the external electronicdevice 400, based on the device information of the external electronicdevice 400. The electronic device 300 may activate an automatic cellularmodem activation/deactivation function according to whether a connectionbetween the external electronic device 400 and the electronic device 300is established using a short-distance communication means, in responseto the determination result indicating that the one-number service isactivated.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the configurationinformation may be requested and received even in the servicesubscription proceeding operation (operation 613) other than operations621 and 623. In this case, the configuration information may be used inthe profile installation operation (operation 619).

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the installation ofthe profile in operation 619 may be performed under the control of theelectronic device 300, but is not limited thereto. The externalelectronic device 400 may receive the profile from the electronic device300 and may install the profile itself without the control of theelectronic device 300.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the serviceactivation of operation 625 may be performed under the control of theelectronic device 300, but is not limited thereto. The externalelectronic device 400 may receive the configuration informationassociated with the service activation, and may perform the serviceactivation operation itself without the control of the electronic device300.

Although not shown in FIG. 6, after operation 625, the first externalserver 450 may request transmission of an indication indicating whetherthe communication service of the external electronic device 500 isactivated, from the electronic device 400.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart 700 illustrating a second embodiment ofdownloading a profile and installing the profile on an externalelectronic device, in an electronic device according to variousembodiments of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 7, in operation 701, the electronic device 300 and theexternal electronic device 400 may establish a communication connectionto perform interconnection through various communication means.According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the electronicdevice 300 and the external electronic device 400 may performinterconnection using a short-distance communication means (e.g.,Bluetooth, NFC, or the like).

In operation 703, the electronic device 300 may perform userauthentication with the first external server 450. According to variousembodiments of the disclosure, user authentication between theelectronic device 300 and the first external server 450 may use anauthentication method defined in 3GPP, OAuth, or the like, but there isno limitation on the authentication method.

In operation 705, the electronic device 300 may transmit deviceinformation of the electronic device 300 and an eligibility verificationrequest signal to the first external server 450.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the electronicdevice 300 may generate a token for communicating with the firstexternal server 450. The generated token may be used for communicationbetween the electronic device 300 and the first external server 450performed for communication service subscription of the externalelectronic device 400.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the electronicdevice 300 may transmit identification information of the electronicdevice 300 for a procedure of verifying a communication serviceeligibility of the electronic device 300 performed by the first externalserver 450. The identifier may be an IMSI of the electronic device 300,an MAC address of the electronic device 300, a serial number defined bythe manufacturer of the electronic device 300, or the like, but is notlimited thereto.

The first external server 450 may verify the eligibility of theelectronic device 300, using the identification information of theelectronic device 300 transmitted by the electronic device 300. Theeligibility of the electronic device 300 may include eligibility that acommunication service plan of the electronic device 300 can support thecommunication service of the external electronic device 400.

In operation 707, the first external server 450 may transmit aneligibility verification response signal to the electronic device 300.The eligibility verification response signal may include a resultobtained by verifying the eligibility capable of supporting thecommunication service of the external electronic device 400, which hasbeen verified by the first external server 450, and a communicationservice identifier.

In operation 721, the communication service according to variousembodiments of the disclosure may refer to various communicationservices (e.g., one-number service, etc.) using a cellular networkprovided by a communication service provider of the external electronicdevice 400.

In operation 709, the electronic device 300 may transmit a communicationservice subscription request signal to the first external server 450.The communication service subscription request signal may refer to asignal for requesting subscription to the communication service in whichthe external electronic device 400 performs communication using acellular network.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the communicationservice subscription request signal may include a signal for requestinga webpage page address capable of inputting terms for using thecommunication service and whether a user agrees with the terms. Theelectronic device 300 may transmit identification information (e.g.,IMSI of the external electronic device 400) of the external electronicdevice 400 together with the communication service subscription requestsignal.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the electronicdevice 300 may retrieve the address of the second external server 600 todownload the profile and may attempt to download the profile by making aconnection to the retrieved address. If a profile to be downloadedexists in the second external server 600, the profile may be downloaded.According to various embodiments of the disclosure, if the profile to bedownloaded does not exist, operations prior to operation 711 may beperformed.

In operation 711, the first external server 450 may transmit the web orpage address for communication service subscription to the electronicdevice 300.

In operation 713, the first external server 450 and the electronicdevice 300 may proceed with a communication service subscriptionoperation of the external electronic device 400.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first externalserver 450 may transmit the web address capable of inputting the termsfor using the communication service and whether a user agrees with theterms, to the electronic device 300. If there is input data on the termsfor the user to use the communication service and whether the useragrees with the terms, the first external server 450 may not transmitthe web address capable of inputting the terms for using thecommunication service and whether the user agrees with the terms.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the electronicdevice 300 may transmit a request signal for selecting a plan for thecommunication service to the first external server 450. The firstexternal server 450 may transmit various plan information provided forthe communication service to the electronic device 300. The electronicdevice 300 may output the plan information on the display, may receive auser input for selecting the plan, and may transmit the user input tothe first external server 450.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the first externalserver 450 may transmit, to the second external server 600, a signalrequesting the generation of the profile to be installed in the externalelectronic device 400, in response to completion of the subscriptionprocedure of the communication service used by the external electronicdevice 400. The second external server 600 may receive the signalrequesting the generation of the profile and may generate the profile ofthe external electronic device 400.

In operation 715, the electronic device 300 may transmit a profiletransmission request signal requesting the transmission of the profile,to the second external server 600. In operation 717, the second externalserver 600 may transmit the generated profile to the electronic device300.

In operation 719, the electronic device 300 and the external electronicdevice 400 may perform a series of operations of installing thedownloaded profile.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the electronicdevice 300 may install the profile in the UICC included in the externalelectronic device 400. For example, the profile may be received as aprofile package in an encrypted form. The electronic device 300 mayperform a decryption operation on the encrypted profile package and mayinstall the profile on the UICC included in the external electronicdevice 400 using the decrypted profile package. A process of installingthe profile may be performed using OTA technology. An encryption keyused for encryption and decryption may be an encryption key generatedthrough mutual authentication between the electronic device 300 and thesecond external server 600. The encryption method may follow thestandard specification defined in GSMA SGP. 22, and there is nolimitation to this.

In operation 721, the electronic device 300 may transmit a signalrequesting service activation to the first external server 450. Theelectronic device 300 may request transmission of configurationinformation required to use the service while transmitting the signalrequesting the service activation to the first external server 450.

In operation 723, the first external server 450 may perform serviceactivation and may transmit configuration information associated withthe activated service to the electronic device 300.

In operation 725, the external electronic device 400 and the electronicdevice 300 may set the profile using the received configuration, and mayperform service activation.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the external server450 may activate the corresponding service, and then may transmit theconfiguration information for using the service to the electronic device300. The processor 330 may set the profile stored in the externalelectronic device 400 using the received configuration information sothat the external electronic device 400 can use the activated service.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the communicationservices may include one-number services in which a plurality ofelectronic devices (e.g., the electronic device 300 and the externalelectronic device 400) transmits and receives a call based on the samephone number, automatic phone forwarding services which areautomatically forwarded to other electronic devices if there is noresponse in a situation where a call is received at one of the pluralityof electronic devices (e.g., the electronic device 300 and the externalelectronic device 400), cellular modem ON/OFF services for automaticallyactivating/deactivating a modem using a cellular communication, messagesync services or telephone history sync services for synchronizingmessage and telephone transmission/reception histories between theplurality of electronic devices (e.g., the electronic device 300 and theexternal electronic device 400), and the like.

For example, the first external server 450 may determine whether theusers of the electronic device 300 and the external electronic device400 are the same and whether the electronic device 300 and the externalelectronic device 400 can be operated with the same number. The firstexternal server 450 may activate the one-number service based on thedetermination result, and may transmit configuration information on theone-number service to the electronic device 300. The processor 330 mayset the profile stored in the external electronic device 400 using thereceived configuration information.

By way of another example, the first external server 450 may determinewhether the one-number service is activated by the external electronicdevice 400, based on device information of the external electronicdevice 400. The first external server 450 may deactivate an automaticphone forwarding function, in response to the determination resultindicating that the one-number service is activated.

By way of another example, the first external server 450 may determinewhether the one-number service is activated by the external electronicdevice 400, based on device information of the external electronicdevice 400. The first external server 450 may activate an automaticcellular modem ON/OFF function according to whether a connection betweenthe external electronic device 400 and the electronic device 300 isestablished using a short-distance communication means, in response tothe determination result indicating that the one-number service isactivated.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the configurationinformation may be requested and received even in the servicesubscription proceeding operation (operation 713) other than operations721 and 723. In this case, the configuration information may be used inthe profile installation operation (operation 719).

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the installation ofthe profile in operation 719 may be performed under the control of theelectronic device 300, but is not limited thereto. The externalelectronic device 400 may receive the profile from the electronic device300 and may install the received profile.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the serviceactivation of operation 731 may be performed under the control of theelectronic device 300, but is not limited thereto. The externalelectronic device 400 may receive the configuration informationassociated with the service activation, and may perform the serviceactivation operation itself without the control of the electronic device300.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart 800 illustrating a third example embodiment ofdownloading a profile and installing the profile on an externalelectronic device, in an electronic device according to variousembodiments of the disclosure.

The example shown in FIG. 8 relates to an embodiment of installing aprofile when a communication service subscription procedure for theexternal electronic device 400 is completed by services (e.g., offlineservices provided by an offline store such as a communication servicedistributor or the like) provided by a communication service provider.When the communication service subscription to the external electronicdevice 400 is completed, a profile that can be installed in the externalelectronic device 400 may be stored in the second external server 600 inadvance.

Referring to FIG. 8, in operation 801, the electronic device 300according to various embodiments may transmit a request signalrequesting transmission of event-related data pending to the secondexternal server 600. The pending event-related data may refer toevent-related data associated with the communication servicesubscription of the external electronic device 400.

In operation 803, the second external server 600 according to variousembodiments of the disclosure may transmit the pending event-relateddata to the electronic device 300.

In operation 805, the electronic device 300 and the first externalserver 450 according to various embodiments of the disclosure mayperform mutual authentication. In operation 807, the electronic device300 according to various embodiments of the disclosure may transmitdevice information of the electronic device 300 and an eligibilityverification request signal to the first external server 450.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the eligibilityverification request signal may refer to a verification request forwhether the communication service plan of the electronic device 300 haseligibility capable of supporting the communication service of theexternal electronic device 400. The electronic device 300 may transmitan identifier of the electronic device 300 and an identifier of theexternal electronic device 400 together with the eligibilityverification request signal.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, in operation 807,the first external server 450 may transmit an eligibility verificationresponse signal to the electronic device 300. The eligibilityverification response signal may include a result obtained by verifyingthe eligibility capable of supporting the communication service of theexternal electronic device 400, which has been verified by the firstexternal server 450.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the communicationservice subscription procedure of the external electronic device 400 maybe already completed. Accordingly, the first external server 450 mayconfirm that the communication service of the electronic device 300 cansupport the communication service of the external electronic device 400,and may transmit the eligibility verification response signal inoperation 809.

In operation 811, the electronic device 300 according to variousembodiments of the disclosure may request transmission of the profilefrom the second external server 600. In operation 813, the secondexternal server 600 may retrieve the profile of the external electronicdevice 400 and may transmit the retrieved profile to the electronicdevice 300, in response to the request of the electronic device 300.

In operation 815, the electronic device 300 and the external electronicdevice 400 according to various embodiments of the disclosure mayinstall the received profile on the UICC of the external electronicdevice 400 using the received profile.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the electronicdevice 300 may install the profile on the UICC included in the externalelectronic device 400. For example, the profile may be received as aprofile package in an encrypted form. The electronic device 300 mayperform a decryption operation on the encrypted profile package and mayinstall the profile on the UICC included in the external electronicdevice 400 using the decrypted profile package. A process of installingthe profile may be performed using OTA technology. An encryption keyused for encryption and decryption may be an encryption key generatedthrough mutual authentication between the electronic device 300 and thesecond external server 600. The encryption method may follow thestandard specification defined in GSMA SGP. 22, and there is nolimitation to this.

In operation 817, the electronic device 300 according to variousembodiments of the disclosure may transmit a signal requesting serviceactivation to the first external server 450. According to variousembodiments of the disclosure, the service may refer to a communicationservice using a cellular network provided by a communication serviceprovider of the external electronic device 400. The electronic device300 may request transmission of configuration information required touse the service while transmitting the signal requesting the serviceactivation to the first external server 450.

In operation 819, the first external server 450 according to variousembodiments of the disclosure may perform service activation and maytransmit configuration information associated with the activated serviceto the electronic device 300.

In operation 821, the external electronic device 400 and the electronicdevice 300 according to various embodiments of the disclosure may setthe profile using the received configuration information, and mayperform service activation.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the external server450 may activate the corresponding service, and then may transmitconfiguration information for using the service to the electronic device300. The processor 330 may set the profile stored in the externalelectronic device 400 using the received configuration information sothat the external electronic device 400 can use the activated service.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the installation ofthe profile of operation 815 may be performed under the control of theelectronic device 300, but is not limited thereto. The externalelectronic device 400 may receive the profile from the electronic device300 and may install the profile itself without the control of theelectronic device 300.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the serviceactivation of operation 821 may be performed under the control of theelectronic device 300, but is not limited thereto. The externalelectronic device 400 may receive configuration information associatedwith service activation, and may perform service activation itselfwithout the control of the electronic device 300.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart 900 illustrating an operation of performingcommunication service unsubscription using an electronic deviceaccording to various embodiments of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 9, in operation 901, an electronic device (e.g., theelectronic device 300 of FIG. 3) and an external server (e.g., theexternal server 450 of FIG. 3) may perform a user authenticationoperation. According to various embodiments of the disclosure, userauthentication between the electronic device 300 and the first externalserver 450 may use an authentication method defined in 3GPP, OAuth, orthe like, but there is no limitation on the authentication method.

In operation 903, the electronic device 300 according to variousembodiments of the disclosure may request deactivation of thecommunication service available to the external electronic device 400.The deactivation of the communication service may refer totemporary/non-temporary disconnection of the communication servicerather than communication service unsubscription.

In operation 905, the external server 450 may perform deactivation ofthe communication service, and may transmit a response message to theelectronic device 300.

The electronic device 300 according to various embodiments of thedisclosure may perform a communication service unsubscription operationafter the deactivation of the communication service. The electronicdevice 300 according to various embodiments of the disclosure mayproceed with a procedure for communication service unsubscription afterthe deactivation of the communication service.

In operation 907, the electronic device 300 according to variousembodiments of the disclosure may request communication serviceunsubscription of the external electronic device 400 from the externalserver 450. In operation 909, the external server 450 may transmit anaddress capable of loading a webpage for service unsubscription to theelectronic device 300.

In operation 911, the electronic device 300 according to variousembodiments of the disclosure may output the received webpage on adisplay, and may perform the service unsubscription operation accordingto a user input on the display.

In operation 913, when the service unsubscription procedure according tovarious embodiments of the disclosure is completed, the electronicdevice 300 may control the external electronic device 400 to delete theprofile stored in the UICC of the external electronic device 400.Alternatively, the external electronic device 400 may delete the profilealone, rather than the control of the electronic device 300.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart 1000 illustrating an operation of managing acommunication service using an electronic device according to variousembodiments of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 10, in operation 1001, an electronic device (e.g., theelectronic device 300 of FIG. 3) and an external server (e.g., theexternal server 450 of FIG. 3) according to various embodiments of thedisclosure may first perform user authentication. According to variousembodiments of the disclosure, user authentication between theelectronic device 300 and the first external server 450 may use anauthentication method defined in 3GPP, OAuth, or the like, but there isno limitation on the authentication method.

In operation 1003, the electronic device 300 according to variousembodiments of the disclosure may transmit a signal requestingmanagement of communication service subscription to the external server450. The management of the communication service subscription mayinclude a management procedure for changing the communication service,such as changing the plan of the communication service.

In operation 1005, the external server 450 according to variousembodiments of the disclosure may transmit a web or webpage address forthe management of the communication service of the external electronicdevice 400 to the electronic device 300.

In operation 1007, the electronic device 300 and the external server 450according to various embodiments of the disclosure may proceed with themanagement procedure of the communication service subscription.According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the electronicdevice 300 may output the webpage received in operation 1005 on adisplay (e.g., the display device 160 of FIG. 1). The electronic device300 may proceed with a subscription management procedure according to auser input to the webpage.

In operation 1009, the electronic device 300 may transmit an activationrequest signal requesting activation of the changed service to theexternal server 450, in response to completion of the subscriptionmanagement procedure of the communication service.

In operation 1011, the external server 450 may perform activation of thechanged service and may transmit configuration information associatedwith the changed service to the electronic device 300, in response tothe reception of the activation request signal.

In operation 1013, the electronic device 300 and the external electronicdevice 400 may activate the corresponding service using theconfiguration information. According to various embodiments of thedisclosure, the electronic device 300 and the external electronic device400 may set the profile stored in the external electronic device 400using the configuration information.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of activating acommunication service when a profile of at least one of the electronicdevice 300 and the external electronic device 400 is changed, in anelectronic device according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 11 illustrates an operation of activating the communication servicewhen a profile of at least one of an electronic device and an externalelectronic device is changed, such as when the external electronicdevice 400 in which the profile is installed is connected to theelectronic device 300 or when the profile installed in the electronicdevice 300 is changed due to a change in a communication company, or thelike.

In operation 1101, the external electronic device 400 and the electronicdevice 300 may establish a communication connection. The electronicdevice 300 may establish a communication connection corresponding to asecond communication method between the external electronic device 500and the electronic device 300 using the second communication module 320.The second communication method may include a short-distancecommunication connection method between the external electronic device400 and the electronic device 300.

According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, the external electronicdevice 400 and the electronic device 300 may be in a newly connectedstate. The case where the profile installed in the electronic device 300is changed due to a change in the communication company or the like maycorrespond to a case where the external electronic device 400 in whichthe profile has been already installed is newly connected to theelectronic device 300.

In operation 1103, the electronic device 300 and the external server 450according to various embodiments of the disclosure may perform a userauthentication operation. According to various embodiments of thedisclosure, user authentication between the electronic device 300 andthe first external server 450 may use an authentication method definedin 3GPP, OAuth, or the like, but there is no limitation on theauthentication method.

In operation 1105, the electronic device 300 according to variousembodiments of the disclosure may transmit a signal requesting serviceactivation to the external server 450. According to various embodimentsof the disclosure, the electronic device 300 may transmit deviceinformation of the electronic device 300 (e.g., IMSI of the electronicdevice 300) and device information of the external electronic device 400(e.g., IMSI of the external electronic device 400) to the externalserver 450.

In operation 1107, the external server 450 according to variousembodiments of the disclosure may transmit a response message to theservice activation request to the electronic device 300. According tovarious embodiments of the disclosure, the external server 450 maytransmit, to the electronic device 300, whether a service requested tobe activated is valid using an identifier of the electronic device 300and an identifier of the external electronic device 400 or serviceinformation to which the electronic device 300 is subscribed.

In operation 1109, the electronic device 300 according to variousembodiments of the disclosure may activate a service 1107 of theexternal server 500 based on the response message.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the electronicdevice 300 may confirm a response message, and may activate thecommunication service available to the external electronic device 400when the external electronic device 400 can be provided with the validservice. According to another embodiment, when the external electronicdevice 400 cannot be provided with the valid service, the electronicdevice 300 may deactivate the communication service of the externalelectronic device 400.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the electronicdevice 300 may activate the communication service available to theexternal electronic device 400 according to activation or deactivationin the external server 450, or may deactivate at least a part of thecommunication service.

An electronic device according to various embodiments of the disclosuremay include a memory configured to store device informationcorresponding to the electronic device; a first communication modulecomprising communication circuitry configured to establish a firstcommunication connection corresponding to a first communication methodwith an external server; a second communication module comprisingcommunication circuitry configured to establish a second communicationconnection corresponding to a second communication method with anexternal electronic device; and a processor. The processor may beconfigured to establish the first communication connection with theexternal server using the first communication module, to transmit thedevice information to the external server through the firstcommunication connection, to receive one or more service identifierscorresponding to one or more services available to the externalelectronic device from the external server, to establish the secondcommunication connection with the external electronic device using thesecond communication module, and to transmit control information basedon at least a part of an identifier corresponding to at least oneservice of the one or more services to the external electronic device toactivate the at least one service in the external electronic device.

In the electronic device according to various embodiments of thedisclosure, the processor may be configured to transmit, to the externalserver, another device information corresponding to the externalelectronic device together with the device information.

In the electronic device according to various embodiments of thedisclosure, the processor may be configured to receive an identifiercorresponding to a service that is executable in association with theelectronic device and the external electronic device, as at least a partof the one or more service identifiers.

In the electronic device according to various embodiments of thedisclosure, the processor may be configured to select the service thatis executable in association with the electronic device and the externalelectronic device, as at least a part of the at least one service.

In the electronic device according to various embodiments of thedisclosure, the at least one service may not be executable in theelectronic device and may be executable in the external electronicdevice.

In the electronic device according to various embodiments of thedisclosure, the processor may be configured to transmit configurationinformation used to activate a first function associated with the atleast one service and/or to deactivate a second function associated withthe at least one service in the external electronic device to theexternal electronic device as at least a part of the controlinformation.

In the electronic device according to various embodiments of thedisclosure, the processor may be configured to transmit a request foractivating the at least one service to the external server and toreceive at least a part of the configuration information from theexternal server as at least a part of a response to the request.

In the electronic device according to various embodiments of thedisclosure, the processor may be configured to acquire the at least apart of the configuration information from at least one piece ofconfiguration information stored in the memory based on at least a partof the identifier corresponding to the at least one service.

In the electronic device according to various embodiments of thedisclosure, the second communication connection established through thesecond communication module may include a short-distance communicationconnection, the at least one service may include a service that can beprovided based on the same phone number with respect to the electronicdevice and the external electronic device, and the processor may beconfigured to provide a call forwarding function for the same phonenumber to the external electronic device using the second communicationmodule when the service is deactivated in the external electronicdevice.

In the electronic device according to various embodiments of thedisclosure, the processor may be configured to transmit another requestfor a profile to be installed in a UICC of the external electronicdevice to another external server, and to transmit the profile to theexternal electronic device when receiving the profile from the otherexternal server as a response to the other request.

In the electronic device according to various embodiments of thedisclosure, the processor may be configured to transmit a request for aweb address to be used in a subscription to a cellular communicationservice for the external electronic device to a web server correspondingto the cellular communication service different from the external serverand the other external server, when receiving an indication that theprofile does not exist in the other external server as the response tothe other request.

In the electronic device according to various embodiments of thedisclosure, the processor may be configured to control the externalelectronic device to deactivate the at least one service activated inthe external electronic device when receiving a request for deleting theprofile from the external electronic device, and to request a webaddress for communication network use service unsubscription of theexternal electronic device from the external server.

In the electronic device according to various embodiments of thedisclosure, the processor may be configured to receive a designatedapplication corresponding to the at least one service from the externalserver.

In the electronic device according to various embodiments of thedisclosure, the processor may be configured to transmit the designatedapplication to the external electronic device.

An electronic device according to various embodiments of the disclosuremay include a memory configured to store device informationcorresponding to the electronic device and identifiers of one or moreservices available to an external electronic device; a firstcommunication module comprising communication circuitry configured toestablish a first communication connection corresponding to a firstcommunication method with an external server; a second communicationmodule comprising communication circuitry configured to establish asecond communication connection corresponding to a second communicationmethod with the external electronic device; and a processor. Theprocessor may be configured to establish the first communicationconnection with the external server using the first communicationmodule, to transmit the device information to the external serverthrough the first communication connection, to establish the secondcommunication connection with the external electronic device using thesecond communication module, and to transmit control information basedon at least a part of an identifier corresponding to at least oneservice of the one or more services to the external electronic device toactivate the at least one service in the external electronic device.

An electronic device according to various embodiments of the disclosuremay include a memory configured to store device informationcorresponding to the electronic device; a first communication modulecomprising communication circuitry configured to establish a firstcommunication connection corresponding to a first communication methodwith an external server; and a processor. The processor may beconfigured to establish the first communication connection with theexternal server using the first communication module, to transmit thedevice information to the external server through the firstcommunication connection, to receive one or more service identifierscorresponding to one or more services available to the electronic devicefrom the external server, and to transmit a signal requesting activationbased on at least a part of an identifier corresponding to at least oneservice of the one or more services to the external server to activatethe at least one service in the electronic device.

An electronic device according to various embodiments of the disclosuremay include a memory configured to store device informationcorresponding to the electronic device; a first communication modulecomprising communication circuitry configured to establish a firstcommunication connection corresponding to a first communication methodwith an external server; a second communication module comprisingcommunication circuitry configured to establish a second communicationconnection corresponding to a second communication method with anexternal electronic device; and a processor. The processor may beconfigured to establish the second communication connection with theexternal electronic device using the second communication module, toreceive device information of the external electronic device from theexternal electronic device, to determine whether a profile exists in theexternal electronic device based on the device information of theexternal electronic device, to determine whether the external electronicdevice is first connected to the electronic device in response todetermining that the profile exists, and to transmit control informationbased on at least a part of an identifier corresponding to at least oneservice available to the external electronic device to the externalelectronic device to activate the at least one service in the externalelectronic device based on the determination result.

An electronic device according to various embodiments of the disclosuremay include a first communication module comprising communicationcircuitry configured to establish a first communication connectioncorresponding to a first communication method with a first externalelectronic device; and a processor. The processor may be configured toestablish the first communication connection with the first externalelectronic device using the first communication module, to receivedevice information transmitted by the first external electronic device,and to transmit one or more service identifiers corresponding to one ormore services available to a second external electronic device connectedto the first external electronic device, to the first externalelectronic device.

In the electronic device according to various embodiments of thedisclosure, the processor may be configured to receive a request foractivating the at least one service transmitted by the first externalelectronic device, and to transmit configuration information about theservice requested to be activated to the first external electronicdevice as at least a part of a response to the request.

In the electronic device according to various embodiments of thedisclosure, the processor may be configured to receive a request fortransmitting a web address to be used in subscription to a cellularcommunication service for the second external electronic device, whichis transmitted by the first external electronic device, and to transmitthe web address to the first external electronic device as at least apart of a response to the request.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart 1200 illustrating a method of operating anelectronic device according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 12, in operation 1210, an electronic device (e.g., theelectronic device 300 of FIG. 3) according to various embodiments of thedisclosure may establish a first communication connection with anexternal server (e.g., the external server 450 of FIG. 3).

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, a firstcommunication method may refer to a method of performing a communicationservice provided by a provider of the external server 450 (e.g., acellular network, Wi-Fi, or the like). The electronic device 300 mayestablish the first communication connection with the external server450, and may transmit and receive data to and from the external server450.

In operation 1220, the electronic device 300 according to variousembodiments of the disclosure may transmit device information to theexternal server 450.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the deviceinformation may include device information of the electronic device 300.The device information may include identification information (e.g.,which may include various information capable of distinguishing theelectronic device 300 from other electronic devices, such as IMSIinformation of the electronic device 300) of the electronic device 300.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the deviceinformation may be used for the external server 450 to retrieve acommunication service available to the external electronic device 400.

The service available to the external electronic device 400 according tovarious embodiments of the disclosure may include a service that isexecutable in association with the electronic device 300 and theexternal electronic device 400 or a service that is not executable inthe electronic device 300 and executable only in the external electronicdevice 400.

The external server 450 according to various embodiments of thedisclosure may retrieve the service available to the external electronicdevice 400 based on the device information of the electronic device 300,and may transmit identifiers of at least one service available to theexternal electronic device 400 to the electronic device 300.

In operation 1230, the electronic device 300 according to variousembodiments of the disclosure may receive a service identifiertransmitted by the external server 450.

In operation 1240, the electronic device 300 according to variousembodiments of the disclosure may establish a second communicationconnection with an external electronic device (e.g., the externalelectronic device 400 of FIG. 3).

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the electronicdevice 300 may control the second communication module 320, and mayestablish the second communication connection corresponding to thesecond communication method (e.g., which may include a short-distancecommunication method such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi direct, or the like) withthe external electronic device 400.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the electronicdevice 300 may establish the second communication connection with theexternal electronic device 400 in order to perform the followingoperation 1250.

In operation 1250, the electronic device 300 according to variousembodiments of the disclosure may transmit control information based onat least a part of the service identifier to the external electronicdevice 400.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the electronicdevice 300 may transmit the control information based on at least a partof the identifier corresponding to the at least one service to theexternal electronic device 400 so that the at least one service can beactivated in the external electronic device 400. The control informationbased on the at least a part of the identifier may include configurationinformation transmitted by the external server 450.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a method 1300 of operating anelectronic device according to another embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 13, in operation 1310, the electronic device 300according to various embodiments of the disclosure may receive deviceinformation of the external electronic device 400. According to variousembodiments of the disclosure, the electronic device 300 and theexternal electronic device 400 may request device information of theexternal electronic device (e.g., IMSI information of the externalelectronic device 400) from the external electronic device 400 in astate in which the second communication connection is established.

In operation 1320, the electronic device 300 according to variousembodiments of the disclosure may determine whether a profile to beinstalled in the external electronic device 400 exists based on thedevice information of the external electronic device 400.

In operation 1330, the electronic device 300 according to variousembodiments of the disclosure may determine whether the externalelectronic device 400 is first connected to the electronic device 300 inresponse to determining that the profile exists in the externalelectronic device 400 (‘Yes’ of operation 1320).

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, a case where theexternal electronic device 400 is first connected to the electronicdevice 300 may be caused by a case where the external electronic device400 is first connected to the electronic device 300 in a state in whichthe profile is installed and a case where the external electronic device400 is connected to the electronic device 300 in a state in which theprofile of the electronic device 300 is changed.

In operation 1340, the electronic device 300 according to variousembodiments of the disclosure may transmit a signal for requestingactivation of a service available to the external electronic device 400to the external server 450. According to various embodiments of thedisclosure, the electronic device 300 may transmit an identifier of theelectronic device 300 (e.g., IMSI of the electronic device 300) and anidentifier of the external electronic device 400 (e.g., IMSI of theexternal electronic device 400) to the external server 450. According tovarious embodiments of the disclosure, the external server 450 maytransmit, to the electronic device 300, whether activation of a servicerequested to be activated is valid using the identifier of theelectronic device 300 and the identifier of the external electronicdevice 400 or service information to which the electronic device 300 issubscribed.

According to various embodiments of the disclosure, the electronicdevice 300 may activate the communication service available to theexternal electronic device 400 or deactivate at least a part of thecommunication service according to activation/deactivation in theexternal server 450.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart 1400 illustrating an operation in which anelectronic device (e.g., the external electronic device 400 of FIG. 3)according to various embodiments of the disclosure alone installs aprofile.

Referring to FIG. 14, in operation 1410, the external electronic device400 according to various embodiments of the disclosure may set a networkthat can be connected to the external server 450. According to variousembodiments of the disclosure, the network of the external electronicdevice 400 may be set to transmit/receive data for communication servicesubscription with the external server 450 of the external electronicdevice 400.

In operation 1420, the external electronic device 400 according tovarious embodiments of the disclosure may determine whether a profile tobe downloaded exists in a profile providing server.

The external electronic device 400 may make a connection to an addressof a server included in a profile download address list stored in theexternal electronic device 400 in order to receive the profile, and mayattempt to download the profile from the connected server if theconnection is successful.

The external electronic device 400 may make a connection to an addressof the profile providing server included in the profile download addresslist stored in the external electronic device 400, and may confirm anMCC of the external electronic device 400 if the downloading of theprofile fails. The processor 330 may attempt to make a connection to theaddress of the profile providing server of at least one communicationprovider corresponding to the MCC, and may attempt to download theprofile in the connected profile providing server.

In operation 1430, if the external electronic device 400 succeeds indownloading the profile, the external electronic device 400 may installthe profile on the UICC of the external electronic device 400.

The above-discussed method is described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations, methods, and computer program productsaccording to example embodiments of the present disclosure. It will beunderstood that each block of the flowchart illustrations, andcombinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations, can beimplemented by computer program instructions. These computer programinstructions can be provided to a processor of a general purposecomputer, special purpose computer, or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions,which are executed via the processor of the computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus, create means for implementingthe functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks. These computerprogram instructions may also be stored in a computer usable orcomputer-readable memory that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer usable orcomputer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including atleast one instruction that implements the function specified in theflowchart block or blocks. The computer program instructions may also beloaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatusto cause a series of operations to be performed on the computer or otherprogrammable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process suchthat the instructions that are executed on the computer or otherprogrammable apparatus provide operations for implementing the functionsspecified in the flowchart block or blocks.

Each block of the flowchart illustrations may represent a module,segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executableinstructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). Itshould also be noted that in some alternative implementations, thefunctions noted in the blocks may occur out of the order. For example,two blocks shown in succession may in fact be executed substantiallyconcurrently or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved.

Certain example aspects of the present disclosure can also be embodiedas computer readable code on a non-transitory computer readablerecording medium. A non-transitory computer readable recording medium isany data storage device that can store data which can be thereafter readby a computer system. Examples of the non-transitory computer readablerecording medium include a ROM, a RAM, compact disc-ROMs (CD-ROMs),magnetic tapes, floppy disks, and optical data storage devices. Thenon-transitory computer readable recording medium can also bedistributed over network coupled computer systems so that the computerreadable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion. Inaddition, functional programs, code, and code segments for accomplishingthe present disclosure can be easily construed by programmers skilled inthe art to which the present disclosure pertains.

It is noted that the various example embodiments of the presentdisclosure as described above typically involve the processing of inputdata and the generation of output data to some extent. This input dataprocessing and output data generation may be implemented in hardware orsoftware in combination with hardware. For example, specific electroniccomponents may be employed in a mobile device or similar or relatedcircuitry for implementing the functions associated with the variousexample embodiments of the present disclosure as described above.Alternatively, one or more processors operating in accordance withstored instructions may implement the functions associated with thevarious embodiments of the present disclosure as described above. Ifsuch is the case, it is within the scope of the present disclosure thatsuch instructions may be stored on one or more non-transitory processorreadable mediums. Examples of the processor readable mediums include aROM, a RAM, CD-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, and optical datastorage devices. The processor readable mediums can also be distributedover network coupled computer systems so that the instructions arestored and executed in a distributed fashion. In addition, functionalcomputer programs, instructions, and instruction segments foraccomplishing the present disclosure can be easily construed byprogrammers skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains.

Aspects of the above-described embodiments of the present disclosure canbe implemented in hardware, firmware or via the execution of software orcomputer code that can be stored in a recording medium such as a CD ROM,a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), a magnetic tape, a RAM, a floppy disk, ahard disk, or a magneto-optical disk or computer code downloaded over anetwork originally stored on a remote recording medium or anon-transitory machine readable medium and to be stored on a localrecording medium, so that the methods described herein can be renderedvia such software that is stored on the recording medium using a generalpurpose computer, or a special processor or in programmable or dedicatedhardware, such as an ASIC or FPGA. As would be understood in the art,the computer, the processor, microprocessor controller or theprogrammable hardware include memory components, e.g., RAM, ROM, Flash,etc. that may store or receive software or computer code that whenaccessed and executed by the computer, processor or hardware implementthe processing methods described herein.

While the present disclosure has been illustrated and described withreference to various example embodiments thereof, it will be understoodby those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details maybe made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent disclosure as defined by the appended claims and theirequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic device comprising: a memoryconfigured to store device information corresponding to the electronicdevice; a first communication module comprising communication circuitryconfigured to establish a first communication connection correspondingto a first communication method with an external server; a secondcommunication module comprising communication circuitry configured toestablish a second communication connection corresponding to a secondcommunication method with an external electronic device; and aprocessor, wherein the processor is configured to: establish the firstcommunication connection with the external server using the firstcommunication module, transmit the device information to the externalserver through the first communication connection, receive one or moreservice identifiers corresponding to one or more services available tothe external electronic device from the external server, establish thesecond communication connection with the external electronic deviceusing the second communication module, and transmit control informationbased on at least a part of an identifier corresponding to at least oneservice of the one or more services to the external electronic device toactivate the at least one service in the external electronic device. 2.The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured totransmit, to the external server, another device informationcorresponding to the external electronic device together with the deviceinformation.
 3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the processoris configured to receive an identifier corresponding to a service thatis executable in association with the electronic device and the externalelectronic device, as at least a part of the one or more serviceidentifiers.
 4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the processoris configured to select the service that is executable in associationwith the electronic device and the external electronic device, as atleast a part of the at least one service.
 5. The electronic device ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one service is not executable in theelectronic device and is executable in the external electronic device.6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the processor is configuredto transmit configuration information used to activate a first functionassociated with the at least one service and/or to deactivate a secondfunction associated with the at least one service in the externalelectronic device to the external electronic device as at least a partof the control information.
 7. The electronic device of claim 6, whereinthe processor is configured to: transmit a request for activating the atleast one service to the external server, and receive at least a part ofthe configuration information from the external server as at least apart of a response to the request.
 8. The electronic device of claim 6,wherein the processor is configured to acquire the at least a part ofthe configuration information from at least one piece of configurationinformation stored in the memory based on at least a part of theidentifier corresponding to the at least one service.
 9. The electronicdevice of claim 1, wherein the second communication connectionestablished through the second communication module includes ashort-distance communication connection, the at least one serviceincludes a service that can be provided based on a same phone numberwith respect to the electronic device and the external electronicdevice, and the processor is configured to provide a call forwardingfunction for the same phone number to the external electronic deviceusing the second communication module when the service is deactivated inthe external electronic device.
 10. The electronic device of claim 1,wherein the processor is configured to: transmit another request for aprofile to be installed in a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) ofthe external electronic device to another external server, and transmitthe profile to the external electronic device when receiving the profilefrom the other external server as a response to the other request. 11.The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the processor is configuredto transmit a request for a web address to be used in subscription to acellular communication service for the external electronic device to aweb server corresponding to a cellular communication service differentfrom the external server and the other external server, when receivingan indication that the profile does not exist in the other externalserver as the response to the other request.
 12. The electronic deviceof claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to: control theexternal electronic device to deactivate the at least one serviceactivated in the external electronic device when receiving a request fordeleting the profile from the external electronic device, and request aweb address for communication network use service unsubscription of theexternal electronic device from the external server.
 13. The electronicdevice of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to receive adesignated application corresponding to the at least one service fromthe external server.
 14. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein theprocessor is configured to transmit the designated application to theexternal electronic device.
 15. An electronic device comprising: amemory configured to store device information corresponding to theelectronic device; a first communication module comprising communicationcircuitry configured to establish a first communication connectioncorresponding to a first communication method with an external server; asecond communication module comprising communication circuitryconfigured to establish a second communication connection correspondingto a second communication method with an external electronic device; anda processor, wherein the processor is configured to: establish thesecond communication connection with the external electronic deviceusing the second communication module, receive device information of theexternal electronic device from the external electronic device,determine whether a profile exists in the external electronic devicebased on the device information of the external electronic device,determine whether the external electronic device is connected to theelectronic device in response to determining that the profile exists,and transmit control information based on at least a part of anidentifier corresponding to at least one service available to theexternal electronic device to the external electronic device to activatethe at least one service in the external electronic device based on thedetermination result.
 16. An electronic device comprising: a firstcommunication module comprising communication circuitry configured toestablish a first communication connection corresponding to a firstcommunication method with a first external electronic device; and aprocessor, wherein the processor is configured to: establish the firstcommunication connection with the first external electronic device usingthe first communication module, receive device information transmittedby the first external electronic device, and transmit one or moreservice identifiers corresponding to one or more services available to asecond external electronic device connected to the first externalelectronic device, to the first external electronic device.
 17. Theelectronic device of claim 16, wherein the processor is configured to:receive a request for activating the at least one service transmitted bythe first external electronic device, and transmit configurationinformation about the service requested to be activated to the firstexternal electronic device as at least a part of a response to therequest.
 18. The electronic device of claim 16, wherein the processor isconfigured to: receive a request for transmitting a web address to beused in subscription to a cellular communication service for the secondexternal electronic device, wherein the request for transmitting istransmitted by the first external electronic device, and transmit theweb address to the first external electronic device as at least a partof a response to the request.